Sequential controller



May 29, 1962 F. c. JONES ETAL 3,037,097

SEQUENTIAL CONTROLLER Filed Oct. 21, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Q9 W az fnz/eni ofs" MCfiarZes 2W.

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UnitedStates Patent 3,037,097 SEQUENTIAL CONTROLLER Frederic C. Jones and Charles W. May, Decatur, Ill., as-

signors to Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Oct. 21, 1955, Ser. No. 541,891 7 Claims. (Cl. 200-63) This invention relates to laundry machines and more specifically to linearly arranged timer-switches or controllers operable automatically to control the various functions of an automatic laundry machine.

In general, the timer-switch or sequential controller of the present invention represents an improvement over those disclosed in US. Patent Number 2,641,661, entitled, Lateral Timer-Switch, issued to G. O. Puerner et al., on June 9, 1953, and US. patent application S.N. 262,760, filed December 21, 1951, by Joseph M. Gartner, entitled, Sequential Controller, which is now abandoned.

The controllers disclosed in the above identified patent and patent application relate generally to one wherein a carriage supporting a plurality of pairs of contacts is propelled along a linear path by the engagement of the carriage with a lead screw driven by a clock works.

Current is supplied to the contacts through trolleys engageable with and slidable along corresponding stationary bus bars. The pairs of contacts are actuated by the cooperation between cam followers integral with at least one contact of each pair of contacts and corresponding stationary, linearly arranged cam surfaces disposed between the bus bars. The cams, formed with a predetermined contour, are linearly transversed by the followers thus actuating the contacts or switches in a predetermined sequence.

Means are also provided for disengaging the carriage from the lead screw and for disengaging the followers from the cam surfaces so that the carriage may be moved manually to and fro along the linear path normally transversed by the carriage thus making it possible to set the carriage for automatic propulsion by the clock works from any desired point along said linear path.

The present invention includes an improved carriage structure and a novel mechanism for engaging and disengaging the carriage and the contact cam followers from the lead screw and from the cam surfaces respectively. The present invention also embraces a linearly arranged controller for an automatic washing machine effective to actuate at least tWo (2) distinct machine cycles.

Accordingly, it is a particular object of the present invention to provide in a linearly arranged controller of the type described a new and improved contact carriage.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide in a linearly arranged controller a new and improved mechanism integral with the carriage for engaging and disengaging the lead screw.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a novel mechanism within the contact carriage and operable in conjunction with the lead screw engaging device for engaging and disengaging the contact cam followers from the cam surfaces.

A further and important object of the present invention is the provision of a linearly arranged controller for a Washington machine having two or more distinct operating cycles wherein at least one of the cycles, the controller is effective to control a normal washing cycle; the controller being further operable to control a shortened cycle wherein each of the numerous washing machine function which ordinarily comprise a normal washing cycle are shortened.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a linearly arranged control device for a laundry machine operable to control at least two distinct Wash- "ice ing cycles and settable to skip or repeat any portion of either cycle. The control device of the present invention is further settable to begin a washing operation in one cycle and may be shifted to the other cycle to finish the operation.

The terms washing cycle are used here to denote collectively all of the conventional functions of an automatic washing machine included between start and stop such as fill, agitate, spin, rinse-agitate, and the like. Washing cycle is not intended to be restricted to the above functions but may include others which may appear desirable for achieving good machine operation consistent with efficient laundering of fabric.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from a study of the appended specification and drawings wherein like elements are designated by like reference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of a laundry machine control panel with which the present invention may be associated;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along the line 2-2 thereof and showing the general disposition of the controller of the present invention within the control panel;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the control panel of FIG. 1 with portions thereof broken away to show the linear arrangement of the controller frame, lead screw, and the disposition of a leaf spring thereon which in cooperation with the contact carriage marks the dividing line between that portion of the controller which controls the normal washing cycle and that portion thereof which controls the short cycle;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectoin of FIG. 3 taken along the line 4-4 thereof and shows to advantage the contact carriage, the lead screw, the contact block, the contact cam followers, the operating lever, and the contoured cam surfaces formed along the back wall of the controller frame;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section of FIG. 4 taken along the line 5-5 and shows the contact carriage and the lead screw in the engaged position;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 and shows the contact carriage and the lead screw in the disengaged position;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of FIG. 5 as viewed in the plane of the line 7-7 and shows the contact carriage and the trolley block in the operative position and in condition for propulsion by the lead screw; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 and shows the carriage and the trolley block in the unoperative position and in condition for manual movement along the lead screw.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, there is shown a portion of a control panel 10 of a washing machine having control buttons 11 and 12, and a linearly arranged indicator card 14 denoting thereon the range of a Normal washing cycle and the range of a Short washing cycle. The button 11 is rotatable to select the desired wash water conditions such as hot, warm or suds water while the button 12 is settable manually at any desired point along the indicator card 14 and within the range of either cycle to initiate any desired function of either washing cycle.

Since the present invention represents an improvement over the controllers disclosed in said patent and patent application only those portions of the controller mechanism disclosed herein will be described which are necessary to set out an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The controller is supported in a frame 16. The frame is designed so that it will lend itself readily to die-casting and is formed with ears 17 and 18 having slots 19 so that it may be suitably mounted to the control panel. The frame 16 is enclosed along the rear wall thereof by a plastic panel 21 formed of Bakelite or other suitable moldable plastic having linearly contoured cams 22 molded on the inner side thereof and carrying a plurality of spaced bus bars 23. The plastic panel and the frame are formed with slides 24 and 26 which cooperate to provide a track along which a carriage member indicated generally by the reference numeral 27, may travel. The contact carriage 27 comprises a body member 28 whose wing portions 29 and 31 engage the track formed by the cooperation between the frame 16 and the back panel 21.

Pivotally mounted to the carriage and disposed between the wing portions 29 and 31 thereof is a plastic trolley block 32 (FIGS. 7 and 8) carrying a plurality of normally open, pairs of contacts 33. At least one contact of each pair is formed with a projecting cam follower 34 which is engageable with its corresponding linear cam 22 formed in the panel 21. Current is supplied to the contacts by the engagement of a plurality of spring contacts or trolley 36 (FIGS. 7 and 8) suitably mounted on the trolley block, with corresponding bus bars 23 disposed between and extending generally parallel to the linearly arranged cams.

As is apparent from the disclosure of said patent and said co-pending patent application the pairs of contacts 33 are movable linearly and are actuated in accordance with predetermined permutations and combinations projected upon the stationary linearly arranged cams to control a continuous and automatic washing cycle.

It is important to note however, that the controller of the present invention controls two separate and independent Washing cycles namely; a normal washing cycle and a shortened washing cycle where each washing function included in a normal cycle occurs for a shorter interval in the short cycle.

The frame 16 carries a leaf spring 38 (FIG. 3) disposed along the path traversed by the carriage and is resiliently engageable with a cam 39 formed thereon. The purpose of the leaf spring is to denote to the housewife or operator of the washing machine the line of demarcation between the normal cycle and the short cycle of the controller. The confirmation of the follower portion 41 of the spring 38 and that of the raised portion of the cam 39' cooperate to permit the cam to be moved past the follower but not without the operators sensing by feeling (as well as visually from the indicator card) that the carriage has been moved from the region of the short cycle to that of the normal cycle or vice versa.

The trolleys 36 are constantly maintained in contact with their corresponding bus bars 23 and the inherent resilience in the trolleys acts to pivot the trolley block 32 about its axis so that the trolley block is urged toward and constantly bears upon the inner extremity of an operating rod 42.

The carriage is driven from left to right as viewed in FIG. 3 by a lead screw 43 and is movable manually to and fro in a manner which will become more apparent hereinafter.

The operating rod 42 is rotatably journaled in the carriage and is positioned axially by the engagement of a shouldered portion 44 and a complementary counterbore 46 formed in the carriage. A bifurcated plate 47 fastened to the back side of the carriage by the screws. 48 retains the rod from the opposite side. The operating rod 42 is formed with two distinct cam elements 49 and 51. The cam 49 is constantly engaged by a contoured surface 2 formed on the back side of the trolley block. The trolley block is urged against the cam 49, of course, by the spring contacts or trolleys 36. Upon rotation of the operating rod in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 the spring action of the trolleys 36 will urge the trolley block 32 to follow the cam 49 permitting the block to pivot away from the plastic panel 21 (FIG. 8) thus allowing the contact cam followers 34 to become disengaged from their corresponding linearly arranged contoured cams. Clockwise rotation of the operating rod is limited by a suitable stop 53 formed on the carriage. correspondingly rotation of the operating rod in a counter-clockwise direction or until the cam 49 encounters a stop 54 formed on the back side of the trolley block will cam the block toward the plastic panel 21 so that the various contact cam followers are placed into engagement with their corresponding linearly arranged contoured cams as shown in FIG. 7.

Rotation of the operating rod 42 in a clockwise direction through the limits just defined causes the cam 51 to drive a slide 56 upwardly as viewed in FIG. 6 against a coil spring 57 disposed between a projection 58 formed on the slide and a recess 59 formed on the carriage. As is apparent in FIGS. 5 and 6 the upper portion of the slide 56 carries a claw member 61 which may threadedly engage the lead screw 43.

It is thus clear that upon rotation of the operating rod in a clockwise direction the cams 49 and 51 operate to disengage the threaded claw 61 and the contact cam followers 34 from the lead screw 43 and the linearly arranged cams 22 respectively (FIGS. 6 and 8). With the operating rod 42 rotated to the extreme clockwise position it is apparent that the carriage may be moved freely to and fro along th lead screw 43. The carriage being guided by the track formed by the cooperation between the frame 16 and the panel 21, previously described. In this fashion one may select either the Normal or the Short washing cycle or one may select any desired washing function such as spin, agitate, or the like within either the normal or the short cycle. It is particularly noteworthy that in, any position of the operating rod or the carriage the trolleys 36 remain engaged with and slide freely along their mating bus bars. It is further noted that when the trolley block 32 is in the position shown in FIG. 8 the contacts 33 are open.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 7, it is apparent that upon rotation of the operating rod to its extreme counterclockwise position a fiat face of the cam 51 is presented to the slide 56 and the spring 57 acts to drive the slide downwardly permitting the claw '61 to threadedly engage the lead screw. Simultaneously the cam 49 operates to drive the trolley block inwardly against the tension of the trolleys thus placing the contact cam followers into engagement with their corresponding linearly arranged cams. Thus, in the extreme counter-clockwise position of the operating rod the controller is in condition to be driven from left to right as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 3 by the lead screw 43, in turn driven by .a suitably geared clock works 62. The contacts 33 are actuated in accordance with predetermined permutations and combinations as the carriage is driven linearly along the lead screw.

It is to be understood that the indicator card of FIG. 1 carries indicia which denote two distinct washing cycles; one captioned Normal and theother Short. It is noted that each cycle is composed generally of the same machine functions, however, those of the short cycle are each of shorter duration than the corresponding functions of the Normal cycle. The indicator card further shows a start and off position for each cycle. The linearly arranged cams are suitably contoured at points therealong corresponding to olf to end automatic operation of a selected cycle by the actuation of appropriate contacts when the last machine function of the selected cycle has been completed.

The indicator card further carries indicia between the portions thereof which set out the Normal cycle and the Short cycle designated by a pair of parallel lines straddling the indicia Off. This area of the card corresponds to the linear position of the leaf spring cam follower 41 on the frame 16 and signifies a position in which the operating rod, no matter how actuated, is ineffective to initiate either washing cycle.

It is anticipated that various arrangements and representations of the present invention may be undertaken without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A sequential controller comprising a lead screw, a carriage, means for coupling the carriage to the lead screw so that upon rotation of the lead screw the carriage is driven along a linear path, a trolley block carrying a plurality of pairs of contacts pivotally mounted to the carriage, a corresponding number of linearly contoured cams for actuating said contacts, one contact of each pair having a cam follower projecting towards its corresponding linearly contoured cam, an operating rod rotatably mounted in the carriage, a radially extending cam; formed integral with the operating rod and effective in response to rotation of the rod to actuate the coupling means, and an axially extending cam formed on the rod and effective in response to rotation of the rod to pivot the trolley block toward the cams whereby the followers engage mating linear cams and the contacts are placed in condition to be actuated sequentially when the carriage is driven along said linear path.

2. A sequential controller comprising a lead screw, a carriage, means for coupling the carriage to the lead screw so that upon rotation of the lead screw the carraige is driven along a linear path, an operating rod journalled in the carriage, and a cam formed integral with the operating rod and effective in response to rotation of the rod to actuate the coupling means and whereby the carriage is placed in condition to be driven along said linear path.

3. In an automatic laundry machine having a plurality of operating cycles a control device comprising: a linearly arranged panel carrying indicia denoting a plurality of machine cycles; a carriage including a rotatable operating rod, said carriage being movable manually to and fro along said panel and settable to select any one of said cycles; a lead screw for driving said carriage in a predetermined direction along the panel; and coupling means cooperating with the lead screw and controlled by rotation of the rod for making a driving connection between the carriage and the lead screw.

4. A sequential controller comprising a lead screw, a carriage, means for coupling the carriage to the lead screw so that upon rotation of the lead screw the carriage is driven along a linear path, a trolley block carrying a plurality of pairs of contacts pivotally mounted to the carriage, a corresponding number of linearly contoured came for actuating the contacts, one contact of each pair having a cam follower projecting towards its corresponding linearly contoured cam, an operating rod journalled in the carriage, a radially extending cam formed integral with the operating rod and effective in response to rotation of the rod to actuate the coupling means and an axially extending cam formed integral with the rod and responsive to rotation of the rod to pivot the trolley block toward the linear cams whereby the followers engage mating linear cams and the contacts are placed in condition to be actuated sequentially when the carriage is driven along said linear path.

5. For an automatic laundry machine a sequential controller comprising a lead screw, a carriage, means for coupling the carriage to the lead screw so that upon rotation of the lead screw the carriage is driven along a linear path, a trolley block carrying a plurality of pairs of contacts pivotally mounted to the carriage, .a corresponding number of linearly contoured cams for actuating said contacts, one contact of each pair having a cam follower projecting towards its corresponding linearly contoured cam, an operating rod journalled in the carriage, a radially extending cam formed integral with the operating rod and effective in response to rotation of the rod to actuate the coupling means, and an axially extending cam formed on the rod and effective in response to rotation of the rod to pivot the trolley block toward the cams whereby the followers engage mating linear cams and the contacts are placed in condition to be actuated sequentially when the carriage is driven along said linear path.

6. In an automatic washing machine having a normal washing cycle and a short washing cycle a control device comprising: a panel having indicia denoting said normal cycle and said short cycle inscribed thereon; a frame including a track mounted on the panel; carriage means including an operating rod movable manually to and fro in said track and in a linear path along said indicia and settable to select one of said cycles, and sensing means mounted upon the frame in the path of the carriage and cooperating with the carriage for apprising an operator by means of his sense of feel through the carriage of the transit of said operating rod from one cycle to the other during said manual operation.

7. In an automatic washing machine having a normal washing cycle and .a short washing cycle a control device comprising: a panel having indicia denoting said normal cycle and said short cycle inscribed thereon; a frame including a track mounted on the panel; carriage means including an operating rod movable manually to and fro in said track and in a linear path along said indicia and settable to select one of said cycles, and sensing means mounted upon the frame and cooperating with the car riage for apprising an operator by means of his sense of feel of the transit of said operating rod from one cycle to the other during said manual operation, said sensing means comprising a leaf spring having a cam follower engageable with a cam formed on the carriage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,522,896 McKay Jan. 13, 1925 1,757,124 Lauterbur et al. May 6, 1930 1,912,390 Van Berkel June 6-, 1933 2,293,218 Rieber Aug. 18, 1942 2,581,207 Sambleson Jan. 1, 1952 2,641,661 Puerner et al. June 9, 1953 2,650,271 Ulrich et al. Aug. 25, 1953 

